boston progress radio

with the exception of one month, for three years, every second friday has transformed a tiny bookstore into a magical haven of shared energy—stanzas, lyrics, melodies, rhymes, dances, visuals, fragmented thoughts, reciprocation and appreciation, have been transferred between bodies and spirits.

so i thought it would be fun to take a short look back, in order to look forward.

the bookstore, east meets west, opened october of 2004, with just a small table full of independent apia CD’s and chapbooks. only open on saturdays, the store served as a clubhouse of sorts for boston progress members to catch up, crack jokes, and build together. having an actual physical space available and seeing the potential of our space, it was only natural to program an open mic… but what shape it would take or how it would be actualized, no one really could tell. up to that point, only a few people have actually passed through the threshold of the store and wandered into our world.

in a boba tea spot in the back bay, at a monthly boston progress meeting, the open mic began to form an identity. after several suggestions (ginger-bred, mic-a-saurus rex), vinh the kid said after only a second of thought, east meets words, and the open mic had a name.

first open mic, we had the synchronous fortune of having not just one, but two members of 2 tongues, anida yoeu ali and marlon esguerra, in the northeast. it seems only fitting to have them be the first to bless the open mic as our first co-features. flash forward a year, we had regie cabico telling stories of mini-wooden-penises from men in barrels while humping a stool as a make-shift lover. in between and following, beautiful features from nyc, philly, the bay, LA, minnesota, toronto, chicago, jersee, and locals—all have graced the space.the list of open mic-er seem to be just as illustrious with local poets, musicians, freestylers, youth, passer-byers—all have come thru the space and shared…

to now. we don’t even have to worry about having folks come through… without fail, open mic nights become packed. and the unheated bookstore warms with body heat, which is the only thing that can keep you warm during the cold cold cold boston winters.

on a personal tip, the open mic has opened gates internally, like nothing has before. it’s not just learning the audience banter as a host, or getting over awkward insecurities as an open mic-er, or being brave enough to read from dusty journals as a feature, but i’ve learned that the more i can let go of… speak my mind and heart about, the more room i have to grow… i’ve learned to be open, unguarded—even if just for a few minutes—shed walls and free little pieces of my thoughts with the people. i’ve learned in a deep way the power of words… the unlocking of held breathes i usually choke back, releasing spiritual self into the physical world. even now, three years later, once a month, i still get nervous as i open my black book of secrets and with a shaky voice read out. but i’ve started to see many others, other unidentified poets and writers looking forward, raising their voice at the open mic. in the most obvious way, the open mic was a monthly session to meditate on the state of your union. where would i be if i didn’t have that space… i can’t even begin to assume.

looking back, we realize the open mics really wouldn’t be anything without everyone who supports–reads out on the list, listens in the metal chairs, claps their hands to the beat, yells words to rhyme about, and who shouts—ohhhhhh yeah. so it seems only right to have our three year anniversary feature be east meets words—a super mic of sorts. each and every participant—open mic-ers and audience alike—are the feature.

oh, the only month we did not hold the open mic at east meets west, was august 2005—when boston hosted the 3rd apia spoken word summit. but i guess even then, one can see the community and family showcase as open mics, so yeah, then for three years, boston progress has hosted an open mic, each month… and we’re still holding it down. solid.

Tags: Boston Progress, Commentary, Open Mic.

 

 East Meets Words Open Mic - April 13, 2007 - Part 2 [15:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

As promised, here is the second part of our two part series. It is Jay Legaspi at the East Meets Words Open Mic back in April. I hope you enjoy a few more songs of his. Let him know how much you loved his music on his website jaylegaspi.com. And tell him you heard him here on Boston Progress Radio.

Tags: Open Mic, Podcasts.

 

 East Meets Words Open Mic - April 13, 2007 - Part 1 [14:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

As you all know from our previous posts, Jay Legaspi was the East Meets Words Open Mic feature artist for April 2007. And back then, we promised that we’d post a recording of Jay singing in our bookstore. Well, it has been a month and a half, and I finally got around to editing the recording. Since the total set was kind of long, I’m going to split the podcast into two. So, this week, you’ll be treated to a couple of songs. I hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned for the second part next week.

Tags: Open Mic, Podcasts.

Okay, so I lied. I said I’d recap the Grains of Rice a few days earlier. Well, better late than never right? Anyway. The Ninth Annual Grains of Rice at MIT took place on April 22. Overall, I thought it was a fairly entertaining event. (Although they ran out of Boba Tea by the time I got to the food!) As the largest event put on by the MIT Asian American Association in the 2006-2007 academic year, Grains of Rice featured both contemporary and traditional performances in one three hour show.

The show kicked off with a rousing Korean drum performance from MIT Oori. This was followed by dance performances put on by the MIT Filipino Students Association, MIT Chamak, and the MIT Thai Students Association. I particularly enjoyed the MIT Filipino Students Association’s Tinikling dance, a Filipino folk dance that imitates the movements of the tikling bird dodging bamboo traps. One could describe the dance as double dutch with bamboo sticks instead of jump rope. While two parallel bamboo sticks are moved around, the dancers’ feet flash in and out, carefully avoiding the sticks at all times.

Tags: Recaps.

 

 Interview with Jay Legaspi [10:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Our first interview is live! I had a chance to sit down with Jay Legaspi on Friday, April 13, 2007, before his set at East Meets Words, the monthly open mic hosted by Boston Progress in conjunction with the East Meets West bookstore. Jay was great to talk to and he played to a full house. Listen to the interview and then head over to jaylegaspi.com to hear some of his music. Also check back for some clips from his show at EMW.

Tags: Interview, Podcasts.

If you don’t know anything about Jay Legaspi, here are two important things that you should know:

1. Jay has a thing for Usher songs.
2. Jay sings a lot of break-up songs.

Luckily for Jay, these things both totally work in his favor. He admits that as a singer-songwriter, he’s supposed to sing about love and heartache and girls. Some of us may be so sick of love songs, but Jay Legaspi can pull these off, and get his audience on his side - whether he is trying to convince a girl to stay in wearing her t-shirt and sweats, or whether he’s trying to get over that hot girl in high school that he never got to, umm, never got.

Jay’s set, which was 100% acoustic, was genuine and impassioned. You could tell that he was really putting himself into his songs - both in his voice and in his guitar work. At the end of the night, you felt like you had gotten to know Jay, and through his music, you did.

Coming up soon… an interview with Jay Legaspi and Jay Legaspi live at East Meets Words.

Tags: Open Mic, Recaps.

Jin “The Emcee” Au-Yeung and Jay Legaspi will be playing at Grains of Rice 2007 at Walker Memorial at MIT in Cambridge, MA. There will also be other performances. Last year, Ken Oak and Phil Good rocked at MIT… we’ll see what happens this year. This event is sponsored by the MIT Asian American Association. For more information, you can check out the Facebook Event posting. Advance tickets are $12. $15 for tickets at the door.

Update: The full line-up is going to be:

• Ailah
• Jay Legaspi
• Korean Oori
• Dance Revelasion
• MIT Chamak
• MIT Bhangra
• MIT Thai Student Association
• MIT Filipino Student Association
• Freestyle Battle
• Jin “The Emcee”

The April East Meets Words Open Mic will feature Jay Legaspi. East Meets Words takes place at the East Meets West Bookstore (934 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA) and is sponsored by the Boston Progress Arts Collective.